Barbed devil
& barbed devil 
| |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 10 |
| Attacks |
Claw 2d4, claw 2d4, sting 3d4 |
| Base level | 8 |
| Base experience | 179 |
| Speed | 12 |
| Base AC | 0 |
| Base MR | 35 |
| Alignment | 8 (lawful) |
| Frequency (by normal means) | 2 (Quite rare) |
| Genocidable | No |
| Weight | 1450 |
| Nutritional value | 400 |
| Size | Medium |
| Resistances | Fire, poison |
| Resistances conveyed | None |
|
A barbed devil:
| |
| Reference | monst.c#line2589 |
The barbed devil, &, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. It is a major demon that possesses two claw attacks and a sting attack, and has fire resistance and poison resistance like all major demons.
The following information pertains to an upcoming version (NetHack 3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that the information below is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate it.
As of commit 3946c5a, the barbed devil's second claw attack becomes a sticking attack.Contents
Generation
While barbed devils are flagged to appear only in Gehennom, no lawful monsters can be randomly generated there - they share this trait with horned devils and erinyes.
Above Gehennom, barbed devils can appear in graveyards, and are valid forms for normal polymorph. Barbed devils are eligible for gating by other lawful major demons, and may also be created when a lawful monster casts the summon nasties monster spell.
A barbed devil is always generated in Baalzebub's Lair outside of bones files, and another barbed devil is guaranteed to appear in the courtyard of Moloch's Sanctum.
Strategy
Barbed devils have stronger attacks than horned devils, but possess weaker AC and are overall not too remarkable for the point at which they are normally encountered. Barbed devils that appear early on outside of Gehennom can be somewhat troublesome to an unprepared character, but are easily dealt with by those skilled in handling demons or multiple opponents.
History
The barbed devil first appears in NetHack 3.0.0.
Variants
Some variants include additional areas where barbed devils can generate.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, a barbed devil is generated in The Temple of Moloch, and Dispater's lair contains six barbed devils. This also applies to SlashTHEM and Hack'EM.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, a barbed devil is generated in The Temple of Moloch.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, barbed devils have one of their claw attacks replaced with a fireball ray-type spell that can be cast at range or in melee, similar to the attacks of angels, Yeenoghu and Asmodeus. The fireball is flavored as "hellfire" that can still deal half damage even on a target with full fire resistance.
Encyclopedia entry
These devils lack any real special abilities, though they
are quite difficult to kill.
